To Start Anew
by cellum95
Summary: Miho Nishizumi escapes after the abusive taking she had from her friends when she was defeated in the finals. She found herself in a world where tanks rage constantly, rescued by 3 commanders and their crew members. As she settles down here, would she find herself in an internal chaos? Or would she find herself...at home?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

It was a beautiful sunny morning in a world where there's constant tank battles in every province. These tank battles were not for territorial disputes, religious concerns or even political gain. These battles were for pleasure as the crew of every tank just enjoy what they do.

In particular, in a platoon of three consisting of a Tiger I, T29 and an IS, where 16 men (5 for both Soviet and German while 6 for the American) that had become close friends in the past year. They met in a random battle while they were in their Tier VI tanks supporting each other for a hard-won victory. They would never forget this experience and soon, they are inseparable as they continue to go together in every battle they go.

Today, there were just relaxing since it was Sunday, a day there were almost no tank battles. They moved towards a secret location they have known a few months ago as a perfect training area and also as a relaxation spot.

"Nice weather were having, Michael." Said the commander of the T29. The one he addressed was sporting a smile in his face, supporting his claim.

"Ja, and of course, we could simply just relax with no care to the world." He said as he went to a sleeping position on his tank. The T29 commander just chuckled. He then turned his head to the IS commander, who was downing a bottle of vodka.

"Enjoying the booze, comrade?" He asked in a fake Russian accent. The Russian commander turned his head to address him.

"Da, and it's still the best!" He exclaimed as he continues drinking the alcoholic beverage. The T29 commander just shook his in amusement as he now turned his attention to their crew members, who were busy doing something in the fields ahead of them. Some were playing cards, while others were playing chess. The others were singing their local songs and the rest were just telling stories.

' _This day is just perfect.'_ He thought to himself as he close his eyes for a peaceful rest. However, this seemingly normal day took a very interesting turn. A flash of light seemingly broke their day, and all of them stop what they are doing. The commanders look at each other and silently decided to search where it come from. They whistled their crew members and all of them scrambled back to their respective tanks.

"This is Vasily, IS commander. Ready for battle." The Russian man said when all of his crew where in their posts.

"This is Michael, Tiger commander. Ready to go." Responded the German.

"This is Alexander, T29 commander. Let's roll." Responded the American as the three tanks set off to find the source. The IS went off to the right, while the German tank went to the left, and the T29 went forward in a straight line. They hope that they could have a wider spread in order to find it. The search is on.

 **-American Side-**

The T29 was in a slow but steady pace, its turret turning slightly to the left and right while the crew wherein full lookout mode. The commander, 2nd Lt. Alexander Wiscon, had a pair of binoculars with him to have a full 360 degree view to spot any signs of the light's whereabouts. When he miss something, two of his crew were also in the lookout to see the missing spot that their commander missed. It's the driver, Col. Stephen Hughes, and the gunner, Col. Carl Woodsworth that are this two people.

"No sign commander." The gunner said as he carefully turns the turret to the left and right.

"Keep looking, Stephen. It might be here somewhere." Alexander responded.

"This random event is in the day wherein we relax! I swear, sometimes events like this kill the mood." Exclaimed their radio operator, Lt. Peter Vallen.

"Oh cheer up Peter. At least the 'mood-killer' is something exciting, right?" asked their loader, Sgt. Lance Jackson. His brother and also their second loader, Sgt. Marx Jackson, also supports this claim by giving it a thumbs up.

"I guess you're right." The radio operator replied back.

Alexander was outside of the commander's hatch when he spots something. A crater, small enough for a Luchs to fit in, was just ahead of them. Sensing this was the source of the mysterious light, he ordered his driver to stop.

"Hey Peter, can you radio the other two to come in our direction?" He asked. An immediate 'affirmative' was heard, and the crew of the T29 waited for the others to come here.

 **-Minutes Later-**

The IS and Tiger did arrive moments later when they receive the radio call. Once the platoon was assembled, they began immediately. A no-entry perimeter was established as the three tanks became the posts while the crew members where in shifts. Meanwhile, the commanders went to the hole.

"What kind of machine will make this hole?" Vasily asked the other two.

"We do not know, but we should find our answers here." Alexander replied as they continued searching. Michael was silent of the whole conversation when he spotted something at the corner of his eye. He went there, and soon enough he could see a face sticking out.

"Hey guys, look what I found!" His call got into the ears of both Vasily and Alexander, and the two rushed towards his side.

"What did you find Michael?" Alexander, and instead of a verbal response, the German commander just pointed at the face, in which the two commanders noted immediately the face sticking out. Upon closer inspection, the face was of a teenage girl. They called out their crew members to dig the girl out.

"Is she dead?" Vasily asked. Alexander put a finger at the side of her neck, and could feel her breathing normally.

"No, she's still alive." The American commander said.

"What is a girl doing out here?" Peter asked.

"Is she the source of the light?" Vladimir, the radio operator of the IS Heavy Tank, asked. The question permitted a moment of silence as all who are present asked themselves the same question: is she?

"We could ask questions later comrade. For now, let's get this girl checked in a hospital to treat some wounds." Voromir, the gunner of the Russian crew, said. All who are present agreed and went to their respected tanks and drives off towards the nearest hospital.

 _How did they find her?! Is it by luck, or some kind of tracking device? No matter. What is important to her right now is run as fast as her legs could carry her. Where she was going doesn't matter. What matters is she could get the hell out of here._

" _I found you~." Her head snapped at the voice and come face to face with her mother, gleaming with psychotic malice. She screamed and tries to back off, but then, robot arms suddenly grabbed her out of nowhere and just hanged her in God knows where._

 _Giggles and laughter were everywhere as they spectate on what about to happen. She struggled to get free, but the arms held strong. Her sister was near the switch, and she tries to tell her not to do it, but as if it fell on deaf ears._

 _Her sister flipped the switch and her body shook as a powerful electric current went through. Screams of agony permits the air, but nobody had a drop of sympathy towards her as they leave the area, abandoning her in her tortured fate._

The three commanders cast worried glances at the girl as she shook her head in a frantic state on her assigned hospital bed. It began with whimpers and then this happened.

"Poor girl. She must have been going through a nightmare." Said Alexander.

"What kind of nightmare?" Vasily asked.

"Perhaps that kind of nightmare wherein she is reminded off." Replied Michael. A sudden gasp of air broke their little conversation, and three of them focused their attention to the girl. The girl was awake, but her head was focused down, her eyes shaking. The three of them look at each other and silently agreeing on something.

The American commander was the first to go to the girl as she struggled to control her breathing.

"Hey, are you alright?" His question got the girl's attention, and she quickly scrambles to go to the nearest corner of the room. It startled Alexander, but he got to the girl who has fear evident in her eyes.

"Hey, don't be afraid. We're not going to hurt you." To prove his point, he grabbed a bar of chocolate from his pocket and hands it to the girl. The girl seems hesitant at first, but she got the candy and started eating it bite by bite. Alexander's face broke with a smile.

"W-who are you?" the girl asked timidly as she finished the chocolate.

"I'm Alexander, and this are my friends Michael and Vasily." He replied, gesturing first to himself and then at the two, who were smiling and waving at her.

"So then little miss, who are you?" Alexander then asked the girl, who was a bit skeptical off the mysterious men with her. But since they were friendly, she gathered up her courage to speak.

"I-I'm Miho Nishizumi."

 **A/N: Must admit, I was struggling with this one since I have to weigh my options on what was the story going to go. But at least I didn't have to erase the entire thing just to weigh it. Anyways, enjoy this Girls und Panzer/World of Tanks crossover with a sprinkle of realism in it.**

 **Girls und Panzer and World of Tanks is owned by their respective owners.**


	2. Chapter 2

The youngest of the Nishizumi Family stares at what the window could offer her eyes a vision outside of the hospital. Her mind thinks back of the series of events that lead her here. Losing the finals, being abandoned by her friends and family, turned into a house worker and abused while doing it, her escape, her arrival here and her first contact with three individuals.

She then turns her attention to the bar of chocolate that one of the three who was in the room an hour ago, Alexander, gave to her. Her mind now focuses its attention to Alexander, Michael and Vasily, who got outside to discuss important stuff.

Alexander, Michael, and Vasily, while having different complexions, likes and dislikes, having numerous things in common. For a start, all three of them are friendly. She doesn't know if that's a trick or that's their default personality, still they are friendly. Another thing that struck her was that….they….are…..wearing…..tank…..commander…suites….Uhm…..

Fear gripped Miho's heart as she pictured the three friendly tank commanders. Thinking of them just wearing those and commanding tanks sent Miho's mind into a spiral. What if this was a trick? What if _they_ come to pick her up? What if they will punish her severely? What if….?!

"Hello, Miho. Can we come in?" Alexander's voice, accompanied by the knocking at the door, broke Miho's fearful thoughts. She stares at the door, weighing her options. The options giving her scenarios which is now giving her a mixed emotions. After a minute of debating, and breathing in heavily to prepare for the worse…

"Come in." The door opened, revealing…..only the three tank commanders. There are no signs of her friends and family. She inwardly sighed in relief at her gamble. Her attention now focused on the aforementioned commanders.

"Do you….want to discuss something?" She asked. The tank commanders looked at each other before nodding.

"What do you….want to discuss first?" She could see all three of them looking up with their pointing finger at their chin, clearly thinking on it first. She couldn't blame them. It must be done in order no embarrassing moments happen. Then, Vasily raised his hand. Alexander, Michael and Miho looked at him.

"Comrade Miho, where did you come from?" All three could see that the young Nishizumi was now looking at the floor.

"Is it something that you don't want to talk about?" Michael asked. Miho could only nod. The three of them looked at each other, trying to come up with something.

"Well, if you don't want to talk about it today, could you do it in the future?" Vasily and Michael looked at Alexander, then looking back at Miho who was looking at Alexander specifically before nodding. They could only guess that what happened to Miho must have been traumatizing.

"Do you want to go outside to get some fresh air?" Alexander then asked. Miho looked at him, then Michael, then Vasily before finally looking down at the floor to think about it. They are friendly enough, at least, that she could not see any betrayal in the future, but she still have to be cautious.

"Okay." The three smiled and helped her get up. After they got out of Miho's room, checking at the counter, they walked outside of the hospital. Miho could see more. The lush green lands at the horizon, the sun just getting to set down, and….and…Miho rubbed her eyes and pinched her hand so that she was not hallucinating.

Tanks of various nations grouped together, moving together with male and female tank commanders talking to each other via radio systems. The young Nizhizumi could only stare at the scene before her. It was like this before her subsequent betrayal.

It still hurts, she thought, that she was betrayed like that. Alexander looked at Miho, who was apparently having an inner struggle. He put his right hand to her shoulder, and that instant her focus shifted from her inner struggle to the man who got her attention. He smiled at her, and for some reason that calmed her. She then looked back at the green pastures, still having multitude of tanks going to and fro.

After about an hour being outside, she was being escorted back to her room by the three, saying 'good nights' and the tank commanders saying 'good luck' to her recovery, they got outside to their respective tanks and with that, they drove off to their homes.

Miho was watching the departure of the three via T29 for Alexander, Tiger I for Michael and IS for Vasily, all tanks. Seeing those tanks, and the commanders when viewing them at the horizon, rekindled a little bit of the old flame, as she could feel that she wanted to command a tank again. She sighed, doubting herself once again as the trauma slowly crept back to her.

She knows that the past could still haunt her, she knows that every pain the she felt would return, she knows that mental images of her friends and family would come to 'scold' her, and she knows that going into a tank would likely get the events of the tournament replayed in her mind.

' _No matter how severe they are, they will not hold me back!'_ Miho mentally resolves as she steels herself for the upcoming battle with herself, and the subsequent events that would follow.

' _But first….'_ She thought to herself as she thinks back on the question of Vasily. Sooner or later, they will press information about her past. Miho knows that she will have to tell them. Although she didn't know that much, she's sure that they would understand her past and accept her like she was before. With that in mind, she smiled, knowing that she could get a better life here.

However, buried by the happy thoughts and at the back of her head, she has one question that she fears more than anything else in the world:

 _Is she brave enough to tell them everything?_

With that, she got to bed and drifted off to some peaceful rest.

 **A/N: Here's a Christmas gift for you all: a new chapter! Gotta admit, the pacing set here is different from the previous one. In fact, I felt that this was rushed. However, given Miho's situation, I think it's finally time to set it. After all, pent up misery, torture and sadness is not good, right? Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and pls, give some suggestions in the next chapter, things that needs improvement, and things that is needed to be removed so that this fic could be better at your tastes. See you next time!**

 **Regarding the comments:**

 **No, this will not replace 'Reality meets Game'. This is just something that gotten stuck in my head seeing the Trouble on the Homefront by Overwatch Trooper 12, and watching various stuff as well. So yeah…**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **-Barrack 1BA-**

The morning rays of the sun penetrates deep into the window of the barrack that houses the three tank commanders, their crew and the tanks that they have. One particular ray strikes the sleeping eyes of Vasily. He got up, rubbing his eyes so that he could shake off the last vestige of sleepiness. He looked around, seeing his crew and friends still sleeping merrily. How they could sleep with the rude ray of sunshine he couldn't tell. Shaking his head because of that mental question, he looked around and with an evil grin, shouted:

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! EVERY AVAILABLE UNITS MUST REPORT TO THE FRONT LINE AND MAN YOUR STATION!" It worked like a charm, as every sleeping person woke up and dropped to the floor because of the suddenness of that false order. It didn't last long as they found Vasily laughing his ass off at their rather embarrassing awakening and just stared at him with annoyance. The Russian commander, on the other hand, is still clutching his sides at his intense laughing.

"WHAT THE F*** WAS THAT FOR, YOU ASSHOLE!" Alexander shouted, throwing a pillow at his friend. Vasily, while laughing, dodged the incoming projectile but came under heavy fire from the others as they throw their pillows at him. He dodged almost all of them until one, possibly two hit the mark and as a result fall down to the floor as well.

Michael sighed at the chaos before him as Alexander and Vasily proceeded to argue with the most ridiculous insults ever thrown by man. They are friends for sure, but sometimes they have to, well, that. He stood up and clapped his hand so hard that it caught the attention of every person in the barrack. Knowing what that means, both the American and Russian stopped at their bickering and reconciled, complimenting on each other.

After that incident, they went to their lives and do what other normal human being should do: eat breakfast, brushing their teeth, taking a bath. After that, they dressed up in their respective tank uniforms. They then went to their respective tanks and rolled out, eager to do their task in this day.

"Hey guys, what's in our schedule for today?" Alexander asked in the radio. While they have something planned in their day-to-day planner, today they have forgotten to put something and now every person in the platoon is now brainstorming on what to do.

"Could we have a couple of matches today?" Vasily suggested.

"Let's see the schedule on the matches." Michael said. Everybody agreed, and so they go to the Match Schedule Board to see what's available. They park their tank just a few feet from the board, and the commanders got out of their tanks and see the schedules. What they saw horrifies them.

"3 hours before on those matches even starts!" Alexander exclaimed.

"What kind of joke is this?!" Vasily added.

Michael, on the other hand, silently stares at the schedule and tries to formulate a schedule on his mind. Tank-on-tank battles is what their livelihood is, and with that amount of time to wait it's going to take a toll on them before they could go to battle. While his mind think of something, he suddenly remembers the girl that they have rescued and put into the hospital. He turned his head to his friend, still staring at the board with despair, with no more exclamations at this point.

"What about visiting Miho at the hospital? After all, we don't want to wait for that amount of time, do we?" He suggested. That snapped both of his friends at their reverie and looked at Michael, thinking about it.

"I agree. Let's visit Miho again!" Alexander said.

"DA!" Vasily added with excitement on his voice. Michael just chuckled at the two. While both of them can be a little short-tempered and loves to do pranks, their serious at the tasks they are given and are extremely friendly to any, as long as they don't try to hurt their other friends. With that said, all three of them went back to their tanks and ordered their crew to go straight to the hospital, intent on giving Miho a good morning.

 **-Hospital-**

The young Nishizumi silently stares at the window, looking at the horizon where the sun is still rising. She let her mind wander at the events leading her here. Losing the Sensha-do tournament, betrayed by her friends and then her escape was something she couldn't comprehend. How and why she was betrayed by her friends was the biggest mystery she thought to herself. It hurts, but then another thought swirled into her mind.

The three tank commanders, Alexander, Vasily, and Michael welcomed her with open arms and treated her like their own friend. She smiled a bit on that memory, but then returns into a blank face as she remembers that she must stay vigilant at all times, as she doesn't whether or not _they_ would come and get her, even though in multiple cases that didn't happen.

Her train of thought shattered as she could see the silhouettes of the three commander's respective tanks. She wonders at what they are doing until she reminds herself that she was in the hospital, so they are visiting her. Mentally laughing at that embarrassing thought, she stares at the three tanks coming closer and closer until they park just outside of the hospital. She could see the tank commanders jumping off their tanks and entering the building. Miho then looks at the door, expecting them to enter in a moment, in which they did.

"Hello Ms. Miho, how are you doing?" Michael asked first.

"I'm okay." She replied with a smile. In reality, she was a little hurt while reminiscing the past. While Alexander and Vasily at her reply, Michael keeps staring, as if looking at her soul. Miho was slightly sweating at that, as the German approaches with a stoic face.

"Are you or are you not?" He asked again. His friends stared at him, not knowing why he asked that, but she did. He doubted her 'I'm okay' answer, and just to clarify whether or not she is really okay or not.

"Uhm…." She getting really nervous right now because the aura Michael was giving was so powerful that she cannot form any sentences right now. Her small frame fidgeting as she tries to fight her nervousness to get herself to answer the German commander's question. Meanwhile, Michael noticed her nervousness immediately, and knowing that any more questions could turn her into a nervous wreck, walk towards the young girl and when she reached her, patted her head.

Miho looked at Michael, eyes wide-open with shock as he continues to pat her head with a smile. Alexander and Vasily just smiles at their friend, knowing that he has this 'father-mode' embedded into his system. Michael looked down, still smiling and said:

"I'm sorry if I did that to you. Are you okay now?" Miho's head was swirling with memories and emotions. The warm, fuzzy feeling she was getting from a man she knows little continues to grow, and soon enough she smiled.

"Yes, I'm okay." Michael continues to smile as he pats Miho's head for a little longer detaching his arm from her head. Miho got a little sad for having him to leave, but then she remembers herself that they were busy, and prepares herself for a long boring day, again.

"What should we do now, comrades? The nearest match won't start until three hours from now." Vasily said. Miho snapped out from her 'being bored' state and just stared at the three.

"Sharing stories would be nice, but I don't think Miho here would like to hear them." Alexander replied. The three ponders on what to do next, while Miho just stares at them, thinking about something. Suddenly, she was hit by an idea and said:

"Why don't you guys train for a bit? You know, just to sharpen your skills?" Miho then shrank herself as the three stares at her for a bit, and then at each other, before laughing with…..embarrassment?

"Oh man, why we not thought of that sooner?!" Alexander said, wiping of a tear.

"Good plan, comrade Miho! Thanks!" Vasily added, giving the young Nishizumi a thumbs up. Miho looked at the Russian commander for a bit and then smiles. The three composes themselves before going to the door when Michael got an idea and whispers it to his friends. Miho tilted her head to the side as the three smiles. They turned to her, still smiling. Miho got a little suspicious, knowing that there is a plan.

"Miho, could you join us in our training?" Michael offered with an outstretched hand. Miho's suspicion turns into surprise, trying to weigh her options. Knowing that their occupation being tank commanders, she might experience the bad memories that plagued her nights before. But on the other hand, it might present her the opportunity to experience what she liked before, just like when she joined the school when it was friendly then.

"I would like too." With that reply, she jumps out of her bed and joins the three to their training. They go to the counter first and explained why she would go out, got approved, and goes to their respective tanks. However, there was a problem.

"Uhm, what tank should I ride on?" Miho asked. The three turned their head to each other, before resolving by rock, paper, scissors because it's fun and at the same time easy to do to ease the time. As it turns out, Vasily won.

"Come here comrade. I'll make sure you'll have a safe ride." Vasily said. Miho goes to enter the IS tank, and while she's doing that, one question still gnaws her head like a hungry bear.

" _What did I just gotten myself into?"_

 **A/N: After a long time waiting for my fics to update, here it is, Chapter 3 of 'To Start Anew'. To be quite honest, this fic wasn't supposed to be the one that needed update. It was supposed to be 'Reality meets Game', but since I didn't get an idea yet after its latest chapter, I did this instead.**

 **Forgive me, but having so much to do (i.e computer games, school work, family vacations and stuff) got my head and soon didn't get to wrap my head on 'Reality meets Game'. When my brain finally got rest, it didn't go to the aforementioned fanfic but instead think of the setting in this fanfic.**

 **I enjoy working on it, but sometimes I got a feeling of 'must to Reality meets Game' thing but my brain farted on it and said 'Later'.**

 **On a side note, please give me feedback on my grammar, spelling etc. to give me idea on what to improve next time. And while you're at it, try to think how did Miho's friend betrayed her. Your ideas on that might get into this fanfic.**

 **I hope to see you soon in the next chapter!**

 **-cellum95**


	4. Chapter 4 Part 1

**Chapter 4**

Riding in a tank seems nostalgic after what she handered, Miho thought as she silently sits in the turret compartment of the IS. Her mind was racing with millions of thought process about this training. While it seems a good idea to watch or even experience their training, she still have her doubts since those traumatic experiences have all snuffed out the flame that she had in her when she was in Tankery. Mentally subduing her thoughts, her eyes scanned the occupants of the turret compartment. Vasily was looking outside out of the commander's hatch, probably talking with his friends. The gunner was sitting the right side of the breech while the loader was in the other side, albeit a little bit farther from the breech. Surrounding them are various equipment neatly in the compartment. Some 122mm shells were lined up in the turret walls, a radio near Vasily when person-to-person talks via meeting them personally was not a good idea and some vodka just for the men to get drunk.(They might probably pay political dissidence to the gulag in order for Stalin's hand to guide the shot in battle).

"Are you okay there comrade?" She looked at the loader of the group who was looking at her with concerned eyes. She felt that she had taken time before subtly nodding her head in affirmation. Satisfied with the answer, the loader started a conversation with the gunner in Russian. Scanning the compartment a little bit more she could see random photographs on walls of the turret. Squinting her eyes a little bit she could see people that she didn't recognize in those pictures. She guessed that those might be the crew's parents when they were having a beautiful time with family-in which she has feeling that is still the case-the crew's time together when they were progressing through the years and now with their friends.

Suddenly, the tank jerked a little to the front and she felt inertia doing its work on her for a little bit before regaining her sitting. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and when she look up, she could see Vasily nodding to her, signaling to her that they have arrived in their destination. She waited for all of the primary occupants of the tank to get out before Miho stood up and poked out of the commander's hatch, and she gasped in amazement at the sight. In fact, she couldn't believe that this amount of detail is mounted to practicing. A shattered town is in the northwest corner of the field while a flat grassy plain surrounds it. On the south is are multiple sand dunes to simulate hilly terrain while in the center is a river with a single bridge on it. To top of it all off, a mountain ridge spans the eastern side of the map while a thick forest spans the western side.

"Impressive, Ja?" She could tell that Michael was the one addressing, and she automatically nod her head as her eyes marveled at the sight. Even at her old, oppressive world all of the tankery schools didn't have this level of space for practice, although living in a freaking aircraft carrier that justifies a little bit. Suddenly, waves of memories suddenly assaulted her mind. Memories of having a fun time with her friends when doing the tournaments, their drive to save Oorai compelling them to stay on it together, but then those happy memories where replaced by the failure of winning the tournament, betrayed by her so-called friends and then being subjugated to the torture that she had to endure for months.

The three tank commanders and their crew wore a face of concern and worry as Miho suddenly dropped to all fours, panting heavily while eyes were shaking in their sockets. While the others were still thinking on how to handle the situation properly, Michael leaps into action immediately and walked cautiously towards the stricken girl. After a few steps he was now beside Miho, kneels down with one knee and puts a comforting hand at the girl's shoulders. But before he could say any comforting words to her, she suddenly tackles the German commander to ground and tries to choke the ever living hell out of him. Suddenly, the others went on auto-pilot as they detached the now frantic girl from Michael who was coughing a little. The two men who were containing the girl struggles as she flails wildly.

Miho suddenly stops in her struggle as she finally rationalized her brain into surveying the surroundings. Michael getting up, two of the crew members containing and the others were staring at the scene with a concerned look. Her heart plummeted with heavy emotions as her breathing getting erratic by the moment. Realizing that she is now in emotional turmoil, Michael tried to comfort her but then she surprised everyone by breaking free, ran towards the IS and shutting the commander's hatch, basically isolating herself from them. The commanders and their crew just looked at each other.

"Well, that went pretty downhill didn't it?" One of the American crew members said.

"Now's not the time for jokes Bob." Alexander said to him.

"But I'm just stating the fact there sir." Everyone was again silent. They couldn't deny that.

"So, what are we going to do about it, freunds?" The German gunner, Fritz, asked. Those present were still debating on what to do, but then Vasily walks straight back towards his tank.

"Where are you going, Vasily?" Michael asked. The Russian commander stopped for a moment and turned his head slightly back at them.

"Just getting something important." He replied before resuming his walk again. Moments later, he reached his vehicle, opened the hatch, and then entered.

 **-IS Turret Compartment –**

Miho was now in a fetal as she started crying on what happened moments before.

'I can't believe I did that to him.' That thought had now been repeated in her head as some kind of mental mantra just to justify that it didn't happen, but the memory is embedded so deeply in her head that it is nigh impossible to do it. Her ears caught the sound of the hatch opening, but her mental mantra and the memory has caught the full attention her brain, and so she dismisses it as a mishearing, until a hand is pressed against her shoulder.

Her head jerked up to see Vasily looking at her with concerned eyes. While her eyes locked on to his own, her head keep repeating a scenario that he would scold her death and then say he and his friends don't need her and….

"Are you okay comrade?" The question shattered that train of thought as her eyes widen a little bit as she heard his question. Him, possibly his friends too, not angry at her when she did something despicable? Vasily caught on what was happening indicated by her unchanging facial expression. He sat next to her, his hands still on her shoulder as her head still locks on his. With a little shake, he asked:

"Miho, what happened there?"

 **-To be continued-**

 **A/N: *Stares at the last time I updated the fanfic, it stares back**

 ***Fills with Determination to update it**

 ***Figures that I might as well divide this particular part of the fanfic.**

 **Hi guys and I'm so, so sorry for you all on waiting this fanfic to finish. Got caught up with was happening in the last months or so. I did plan on writing this chapter wholly but then that would kept you guys waiting so much longer than you should have and so this chapter would be divided into two, maybe into three so that I could update a little bit faster so that you wouldn't suffer so.**

 **As always, if you have any suggestions that you would want me to put into the fanfic, please post it in the comments. Until next time!**

 **-cellum95**


	5. Chapter 4 Part 2

**Chapter 4**

"Miho, what happened there?" Said girl could only stare at the Russian tank commander with unease as such question was being asked to her. So simple and said in an easy way, yet to her it felt that such power, such authority that she felt her literally shut down on that momentarily. The memory played on her head over and over, she wanted to deny what happened, but she couldn't knowing that she did it automatically in the first place. Vasily could only stare in sadness as Miho begins to tear up again. He wanted to help her by talking with her, but seeing her like this made him feel as if his method of helping might be inadequate. Taking in a deep breath he approached the girl whose cries of anguish echoes in the turret compartment. His mind raced with different thoughts and emotions, clashing inside of him like a hurricane, all the while the scene continues to play as if in autopilot. Seeing it as the only course of action at this point, he kneeled and hugged the troubled girl as gently as he can.

Eyes widen, Miho could only be there shocked as the Russian tank commander hugged her. Warmth spread throughout her body as Vasily hugs her like a father would do to his troubled daughter. With her brain wracked with the memories from past and present, she shakily hugged back the man as if it's the world's only comfort. Both of them stayed like this for a while as silence reigned in the room. Miho closed her eyes, wanting this moment to last forever. Sadly, it was not to be as Vasily broke the hug in which she slightly whined in protest. As she looked at his face, he wears it with a comforting smile, her swirling thoughts and emotions in her head at ease.

"Now, comrade Miho, are you ready to explain what happened there?" He asked with complete sincerity and with no malice traced in his voice. While her mind protests against this thanks to lingering doubts still inside of it, ultimately her heart said to her that now is the time to reveal to them on what happened. No more bottling it up inside of her, no more darkness that will constrict of her humanity.

"I would, but I think it's best to tell it with your friends. I don't want to repeat it again when I said it to you." She replied as he understandingly nodded and climbed out of the turret compartment. She sat there for a moment before climbing out of the turret compartment also. As she got out, she suddenly got nervous as all eyes bore on to her. She fidgeted slightly as she approached them with cautious steps, wary that one or two of them might lash out at her but then she felt a comforting hand resting on her shoulder. Looking up she saw none other than Vasily who smiled back at her. Filled with determination, both of them walked towards them as she mentally prepares for the revelation that they wanted to know. She could see one of the German tank crew approaching them, and she steeled herself for the verbal or physical beat down that he would deliver to her.

"Mein Freund, did your conversation went according to your plan?" He asked. _What_.

Her head snapped in attention to the German as his eyes was not filled with contained rage at her, rather his eyes were filled with genuine curiosity and concern as he eyed both of them.

"Aye my comrade. However she wanted to do with all us listening to it." The Russian tank commander replied back. He nodded back, turned his head to the group and something in German that caught their attention and soon all of them were now walking towards them. A while later, they huddled in a semi-circle in front of them in an orderly manner. Her nervousness was back at full force, so her body automatically hid behind Vasily as they listened to Vasily's story on what happened in the tank compartment and bore their eyes on her.

"...I might be asking too much of you Miho, but can you still do it?" Alexander asked and while she is hiding behind Vasily, she nodded her head.

"I-I'll try my best." She answered. All of them nodded in understanding and waited patiently as she closes her eyes and breathes in and out for a few moments before beginning her tale.

"I'm sorry for what happened. It's just that the training area have triggered memories that I have." She said while glancing at Michael

"It's okay Miho. For clarification, what memories specifically?" The German tank commander asked.

"Both of good and bad ones when I'm back on my home." She said, concealing her bitterness when saying the word 'home'. While she hid her bitterness expertly, some of the group can't shake the feeling that she hates uttering it.

"Can you give us some hindsight on this memories?" Hanz, the German Gunner, asked. She nodded in agreement and began retelling her life when she was with Oorai High School, their hardships, their friendly matches with the other schools and the growing friendship that she and the members of the school have when going up against the different obstacles from every direction possible. She doesn't know how to explain it, but she somehow manages to subdue her inner darkness while explaining this sequence of events. Perhaps it's them, perhaps that she passed that stage, or both. But whatever the reason, she thanked any higher power for granting her this blessing. All the while, the group was impressed with her story. Some even whistling in appreciation. But then, they got concerned when she sighed at recalling the match between Oorai and Kuromorimine.

"What happened there Miho? Is there anything wrong?" Fritz, the Loader, asked. He flinched at the sudden glare that he got from Miho before calming herself down with a sad sigh and having a sullen look. He and the other instantly felt bad at the sudden change of mood. They tried to comfort her, but she raised an arm to stop them.

"No, it's fine guys. I can handle my emotions." She said with assurance. While all of them were a bit skeptical, they took her words for it and motions her to continue.

"It happened at the final moments of the match, between me and my sister."

 _Two tanks having a stand-off at the center of an abandoned building, both built in Germany. One is the fast Panzer IV H while the other is the powerful Tiger I. The former having the younger Nishizumi as its commander, while the latter having the older sister, Maho, as its commander. Both not giving a single command yet, assessing the situation with their minds as different scenarios are presented mentally. Silence reigns, the air is thick, and the one with the most controlled aggressive behavior would win._

" _Now!" Miho shouted at the radio as the tank lurches forward and races towards the back end of the Tiger. Maho saw this and ordered to follow the motion with both turret and hull traverse. But before Tiger can fire a lethal counterpunch, the Panzer suddenly drifted, losing its tracks in the process. The technique worked and they were at the back of the Tiger and both tanks fired at each other. Clouds of smoke fills the area as students from both schools wait in great anxiety as if the fate of the sport hangs in the balance. As the dust settles, both tanks were on fire, but the white flag is shown on the Panzer IV. All Oorai students, including Miho, stared in horror as reality settles in quickly:_

 _They had lost._

 _All of them cried, silently or not, as they would lose the school that they cherish so much would be dismantled. As for Miho herself, she couldn't believe that she failed her friends to save the school that she honestly is fondly growing a part of. Her eyes shaking in their sockets as the mantra 'You failed' repeats in her head as she slides back into the turret compartment._

" _Nishizumi-sama?" Yukino's voice rang as she looks at her face. Her face speaks of 'apology accepted' and she almost thought that they will be friends forever after this incident. But then Yukino's face contorted into full blown anger as her vision is filled with a fist before blacking out._

 _ **To be continued…**_

 **AN: So here's the second installment of Chapter 4 after days of thinking it out. Sorry if the wait is too long, but I have to make the reasoning of why they betrayed Miho. I don't know if this is the right way to do it, or maybe I should do it in another fashion. In any case, I tried to install myself there when writing, to see the sequence of events that would fit together nicely and would write what would I feel, what would the character feel in this situation, in this scenario, in this sequence so that I wouldn't make it a little too bland for your tastes.**

 **To be fair, we have this biased opinions of this character with big family names attached to them that any plan that he could come up with could go the right way and when it doesn't, we usually have oppressed anger and disappointment, occasionally lashing it out against him/her.**

 **Regardless, I hope you have been satisfied with this latest chapter of this fanfic and to see you in the third and final installment of Chapter 4 in the future. In the holy words of The Mighty Jingles: "Take care folks, and I'll catch you next time."**

 **-cellum95**


	6. Chapter 4 Part 3

**Chapter 5**

 _Her eyes open as the combination of the morning rays of the sun hitting her face and the tweeting of the birds woke Miho up. The sudden brightness forced her to squint to adjust her eyesight. When she successfully did so, her line of vision is greeted by a dark and dimly lit room filled with piles of crates that are horrifically disorganized. Her eyes widened in confusion as she tries to recall something,_ _anything_ _that might explain why she is in this room. The gears in her mind slowly turn as the memories of the past began to return. Her mind narrowed as she concentrates on one particular memory…_

 _The Grand Finals Match between Oorai and Kuromorimine…_

 _The final showdown between herself and her sister….._

 _The announcement of the defeat of Oorai….._

 _Yukari punching her…._

 _Her vision got blurred as tears began to form on the corner of her eyes as that particular memory got clearer and clearer by the minute. She put her right hand on her mouth to muffle her sobs as she closed her eyes and the tears began to fall from her eyes. Darkness began to grip her as her thoughts replay the battle over and over, all the while her emotions begins to swirl like a tornado inside her brain. Thoughts that could seize the purest of souls claimed hers as the hours go by, but her train of thought abruptly stopped as the sound of footsteps reached her ears. Stopping her cries and catching her breath, she looked at to where the footsteps where and who was making them. The answer shook her deep unto her core._

 _Eyeing her with the same disapproving look like she did all these years, her lips thinned into a line, crossing her arms to emphasize her disappointment, all the while carrying an aura of authority, was her mother. While she is rightfully afraid of the sight of her mother inside the room with her alone, she foolishly stood her ground against her. She couldn't pinpoint why, only her body went to autopilot when it did it. Suddenly, her mother adopted a devilish smirk, sending a shiver down her spine._

" _Disgracing the Nishizumi name when losing against Pravda is humiliating enough. But then losing against ex-team, you're just raising the humiliation bar aren't cha?" she said with every word like a bullet towards Miho's emotions._

" _With that kind of humiliation set in place, it's only fitting that I would do this to you." She declared with an evil twinkle her eyes. Suddenly, multiple footsteps reached her ears as people come out of the shadows with scowls on their faces. To her surprise and fear, they were her schoolmates from Oorai._

" _You have failed us, Nishizumi-dono!" Yukari said with righteous fury._

" _Your mother was right. You're just a living failure." Erwin added. More and more negative comments coming from her friends, or former friends now, got Miho to her lowest point ever. But the torture that she would endure is just beginning. Suddenly, they go back to the shadows to do something. Only when the sound of metal clanging did Miho finally piece together what they were going to do to her, and that made her fear levels going up. When they returned with some of them holding metal bats, she backpedalled in fear as they walked towards her. As she felt a solid concrete wall behind her back, and with her former friends just a few feet from her, that the torture began._

 _A mixture of screams of agony and sobs of sorrow echo throughout the room as Miho is on the receiving end of powerful blows from the fists, feet and metal bats of her former friends. Each blow to her body sent pain, anger, resentment and all other negative emotions to her brain as her torturers continue one with what they were doing with content smiles on their faces while she closed her eyes. Finally, as if the torture went an eternity, the beating stop. She could hear them leaving them, and she was internally grateful for it as she doesn't know if she could endure more. Her body covered with large bruises that are visible while droplets of blood drips from her mouth. Her mother on the other hand has a satisfying smile on her face. To her, as if fate deemed it as a fitting punishment to her youngest daughter. She stood there amused at the attempt of Miho to stand up, only to succumb to her injuries and meet the ground as she falls over. With her promise satisfied, she turned away from her daughter and walks away towards the exit._

 _Miho could only idle as she watches her mother walking away from her. The feeling of betrayal and forgotten could only gleefully grabbed her emotions in their icy grip as her consciousness could only hold her for so long. As her eyelids gets heavier and heavier, the emotions that was once present in her torture appeared just for a brief moment before settling into pain and a never ending flow of sadness._

 _Then, darkness took her with its chilling embrace._

Miho collapsed to one knee as she breathes in heavily. While she had achieved some progress unto recovery, the long road shall be painful as fully recalling the memories that you so desperately want to bury could bite you in the ass sooner or later. Sweats pools down to her chin as she tries to stabilize her mind from the brief emotional backlash. As she does so, the group that intently listened to her story had different reactions. Some helped her by getting a bottle of water while asking if she is alright, others just stood there with an expression of sadness, concern and downright _**murder**_. The tank commander were one of those people.

"Such callousness portrayed while doing _that_." Michael, usually the reserved type of guy, said with such venom that it could melt anything. His crew and that of the others agreed on his view. Comrades where comrades after all. Betrayal at that kind of level inflicted on someone who dedicated her life on it was bad enough, doing it with such brutality and getting away it? Now that's a crime on the highest level ever imagined.

"Da. However, she is now in our care now, meaning that if her family or friends is going to get her, they'll have to pass us first." Vasily declared. The group paused in thought. After thinking in through, they nodded their heads in agreement. Miho is now their responsibility, and so they will take care of her as her second family, only better. Harsh coughing caught their attention, and soon eyes laid upon the young girl who was standing up in shaky legs. She stumbles for a moment before catching herself. At the same time, one of the crews returned with a glass of water and presented it to Miho. The young Nishizumi eyed it for a second before grabbing and gulping down its contents greedily. As the glass is emptied, she handed it back to the crew man before inhaling and exhaling air in a controlled manner. They waited for Miho to retain her mental bearing. As she does, she look at them with determination. They knew what it meant.

"I want to continue." She said, further confirming their guess. She was a tough girl, at least mentally, to continue telling her tale with strong emotions still in her mind.

"While we love to hear more, mein freund, you should take a rest. Mentally taxing yourself even more would lead to unavoidable consequences." Karl, the Tiger driver, said to her. While she wanted to argue on that matter, she could see his point immediately. Such consequences would even have her to face future events that could mirror the one she had to endure for so long. She mentally shudders on that thought, and so she nodded in affirmation. Silence settles down on the area as each member of the group nestled in their own thoughts.

"Well, with that said, should we continue on with our training or no?" Alexander asked to them. All of them, including Miho, looked at each other as if one of them had the answer. They all eyed the American tank commander and shook their heads side to side. He could understand what they were thinking. After a spectacle like this, it is safe to have breather for the time being. All three tank commanders signaled their crew to go back to the tanks for the games would start 30 minutes from now. Vasily then eyed Miho, who was staring at them, and look back at this friends. He beckons them to his side.

"So, what's the matter now Vasily?" Michael asked.

"It's about Miho, my dear comrades. Should we let her go back to the hospital or let her spectate with the crowd?" He asks them. The other two commanders ponder in thought as they weigh in their options. They had to consider Miho's psychological condition, and the impact on her psyche when one of those options is used. Michael, not wanting to let Miho be out of this decision, called her to be with them. Miho didn't hesitate and walked towards them.

"Do you guys need something?" Miho asked with a raised eyebrow, although a little bit surprised to herself that she could talk confidently now. Is it because of telling her tale that she got that boost of confidence? Only time will tell she mused. The two tank commanders look at Michael, then at each other, as if trying to get a resolution. Suddenly, Alexander turned to Miho.

"Miho, would you like to stay at the hospital or watch our match?" He asked at her. Miho's brain goes into overdrive as she weighs every possible variable that could happen when choosing one of those options. Every positive and negative happenings were taken in, the rewards each option can give to her, and also what it means for the future of her life. After such stillness that descended upon, Miho look at them, with her conclusion at hand.

"I want to watch your match." She said with much confidence as she could muster. The three tank commanders nodded at her and went towards their respective tanks. Miho watches them for a moment before going to the IS. As the day continues, the three tanks with their special passenger roll out towards the match.

 **A/N: Phew. Finally, I'm done with the Chapter 4 saga of the fanfic. With that concluded, be sure to look out for Chapter 5 as this chapter would be purely dedicated to the match they will be in. While there's so many possibilities on doing one, I would like you guys suggesting what would be the composition that the match would consist of. It can be anything, but be sure to take in mind Miho's still vulnerable psyche. We don't like her getting having emotions that might get her self-destructive or something else, do we?**

 **Also, don't worry. I'm not going to stop telling what happened during Miho's 'Dark' Period. There will be more in the future.**

 **Well, like I said in the past, I hope you enjoy this latest edition of the fanfic. Comment, suggest or whatever you like as long it can help me improve as an author. And with that bombshell, I'll see you in the future and have fun whatever you are doing.**

 **(News break: I'm also going to post a new fanfic which is a Kantai Collection x Persona Series crossover. Be sure to be on the lookout for it!)**


	7. Chapter 5 Part 1

**Chapter 5**

Slightly rocky terrain meets the three tanks as they drive on it towards the match area. While there are many routes towards the area, all three tank commanders opted to use this stretch of road as it shows in their maps that it was the fastest route to get to their destination. Using this road seems to cut their travel time when they would use the other routes, but the cost is their driving comfort. Small bumps and rocks meet their tracks as they travel at maximum speed, and as a result their tanks would slightly rock in accordance to the shape of the road.

In their compartments, they try to get comfortable in their seats as the rocking seems to never end at this point. Consequently, the drivers of each tank tries to have their vision straight as the rocking affected their line of vision. But the one that has being trying to adjust with the situation is Miho herself. Since all of the seats of the IS tanks is occupied, she decided to seat at the floor of the turret compartment. And with the tank rocking side to side to accommodate the shape of the road, she in turn rock side to side without anything to stop her movement except her hands. It made her feel uncomfortable in the inside as the trip towards their designated area seems to drag on with time.

Finally, she could feel the tank rocking towards the front slightly before resting. She inwardly sighed in relief as she thought to herself that anymore of that and she would develop motion sickness. As she could hear the Russian crew sighing happily, her inner intuition tells her that they arrived at their destination. She didn't know where that particular thought, but she could picture Alexander, Michael and their respective crews sighing happily as well. She couldn't complain however, as she sighed in tandem with the Russian crew as well. As she opened her eyes again, she opened the hatch situated above her. Poking her head just enough out of the hatch, she could see what just lay in the horizon. She couldn't have any words to describe it.

A magnificent gate acts as a guard to the cluster of buildings that resides in its hold. The building's exterior were polished so much that they actually shine from the sun's rays hitting the stone that were used in their construction. The paint only added in the beauty as they colored them in each nation's respective color. In front of those buildings are the flags that flew majestically on the wind. The road paved with such precision that even with age it feels like it didn't crumble beneath the tank treads that traverse through it.

"Wow." She muttered under breath with amazement as her eyes scanned the piece of land with every minute detail she could possibly see. She averted her eyes just to take a peek of the expression of the tank commander's, and she could see them smiling.

"Even as it first opened it is still pretty as ever." She could hear Alexander said, and could see the two other commanders turning their heads nodding in affirmation. She turned her attention back to the sight, her sense of amazement grew even larger than she could possibly anticipate. She could feel the tanks lurching forward as the platoon approached the entrance at leisurely pace. The gate opened as their neared their destination. The platoon entered, and soon she could see what was hiding from her calculating eyes mere moments ago.

Different commanders and their respective crew from each nations doing friendly banters with each other. Jogging, playing games, exchanging stories and etc. all filled every nook and cranny of the place. While there were the occasional hardened looks from veterans, she could see the friendliness that still permeates from their frames. But one thing catches her eye, and she turned her head to see it with much clarity as she can.

It was an M4A3E8 Sherman.

She could see the crew of the tank lazily doing their thing. While one of the crew was evidently younger than the rest, all of them had gazes that could kill, even though they are friendly enough judging by the aura that they emit. She then inspected every detail of the tank they commandeered. It was painted in a black color scheme, probably there to instill fear on the enemy. Different battle assortments decorated parts of the tank while 'Fury' was etched unto the barrel of the 76mm gun that it carries.

She bet with all of her money, if she had anyways, that if they got serious then all hell would break loose.

She blinked her eyes twice before she set her eyes straight on the path they are travelling on. They stopped at the front door of what looked like a garage. The giant garage doors opens, and soon the three tanks lurched forward again to enter the building. Painful memories began to resurface, and it had taken such immense willpower to violently shove it back at the recess of her mind. Such sudden exposure to the imagery that have been feasible before was not pretty, not even now, but she forced herself to be composed so that she would not make a scene here, and let the scene before her go in its natural course.

Hundreds upon thousands of mechanics and engineers, both male and female, walk along the halls of the building. Every spot in the building is dotted with them, each tasks assigned to them they work with upmost diligence, perseverance and patience as time ticks on, eager to see the work that they have made. Numerous tanks are even parked here, inspected and sometimes in repair so that they could fight in top shape. Limitless amount of tank parts litter the tables as every person in the maintenance area work tirelessly to get them working again.

The tanks platoon lurched forward again towards their designated area. Miho could feel the tank she is riding on were moving so slowly, most likely to be careful on where there treading on. If she was one of the new ones, she could picture herself staring at the three tanks, menacing and full of their metallic glory, rumbling forward with the highest amount of pride that is pouring out of their frames as high as it can get.

She could the IS pulling over to one spot of the building, and soon the T29 and Tiger tank also pulled over to form a single, straight line. Guess it was rest time Miho mused as she retreats back into the IS's compartment. When she look at the state of the crew, she couldn't help but be amused. All of them were seating in such a way that for a discipline-minded commander this was unacceptable. She would have deemed it as so if she was back with her very old Tankery team, but she wasn't affiliated with them anymore, and so she could see this as their way of relief and happiness.

Like the friendly past with the Oorai, before her betrayal.

Dissipating the unwanted memories in the recess of her mind, she eyed the occupants of the IS tank with warmth. A picture perfect crew, a camaraderie not only between them but also to the other two crew of their little circle of friends. It made her heart flutter.

"Are you okay Miho?" She snaps out of her little gazing session and looked straight ahead into the eyes of Vasily. His brown eyes stares down Miho's own, as if searching the deepest reaches of her soul. Feeling honest, she nodded at the question of her protectorate. Satisfied that she answered, Vasily went back to his work, saying instructions in Russian to his crew, probably how they would handle the situation when coming out of the tank. In the meantime, Miho stares at her palm, trying her hardest not to succumb again to the dark memories that still resides in her mind.

Feeling that she got it under control, she eyed again the Russian crew, only this time they were already going out of the tank. Not wanting to be left behind, she climbs out of the tank as well. She takes one last look of the scene before cautiously going down the tank. Immediately, the noise pollution coming from the building assaulted her ears. She winced at the sudden intrusive nature, but she endured it as she was already used to the feeling.

"Miho, can you come here for a moment?" Hearing the all-familiar German accent, she looked to Michael's direction that she was being summoned to what looks like a platoon meeting. Without missing a beat, she walked towards the gathered men of the three tank commanders. She went beside the nearest tank commander, Alexander, and set eyes on the tank crews. Nervousness starts to kick in as she unconsciously hides behind the American tank commander. She has experience on large gatherings like these, but the men gathered here are still strangers to her, and while she is with the Russian tank crew, they are still strangers in her eyes.

"Alright, listen up." Vasily started. All eyes and ears paid close attention to the words that will come out of the commander's lips.

"We all know the basic drill: sign-up for a match and play the match we are assigned into. However," The Russian commander steals a glance at Miho's direction, who was trying her best to hide behind Alexander. "With Miho here, that drill shall be modified." He gestured to Michael, who nodded.

"Here's the plan: some of us will escort Ms. Miho to the Spectator's room while the rest will sign-up for the match. Sounds good?" All the crew sounded in confirmation. As the sound dies down, Alexander takes this as his queue.

"Now, who will escort Miho?" There was a moment of silence before a single hand rose up from the crowd. The remaining crew member step aside for that person to go forward. Miho was surprised it was one of Michael's crew, and more so that he would willingly volunteer to escort a stranger.

"Kraus." Michael's greeting to one of his own crew. The person whom he addressed stand upright flawlessly, saluting to his superior officer. The German tank commander saluted back, and both lowered their arms in perfect unison. Kraus' blue eyes then directed their gaze at the eyes of Miho, who poked out just to take a peek. Kraus then walked towards the hiding frame of Miho, and stopped just a few feet from her. He kneeled at her level, still staring at her intensely before stretching out a hand to her. Her gaze darts from his eyes to his outstretched hand, before slowly stretching a hand of her own.

He gazes to his superior officer and nodded. Michael nodded back, and as he stood up with Miho in hand, both now walk towards the spectator's area for Miho to watch their match. Those who remained watches as their forms got smaller bit by bit. Without any words uttered at their mouth, all of them go to the signing area for the match they would go to.

 **-With Kraus and Miho-**

The walk towards the spectator's area was respected with silence. The bystanders who would watch this particular scene would only eye the duo with emotions that Miho couldn't discern. A veteran German tank crew member escorting a civilian in a hospital gown. While the others would have looks of evil, Kraus' own hard gaze would shut them down faster than a cheetah, and Miho was grateful for that since she shudders to think of the things that they would do to her.

"Here we are." Her escort's deep and resonant voice pulls her out of her thoughts and her eyes focused to the spectator's area. She didn't expect this at all, with all the outlandish buildings present in the area, she hoped that it was the same as the others. It was a simple three-story building that is colored in a red-grey color scheme. The double doors the greeted them were made out of mighty oak wood that was somehow polished as glass. While it did stick out as a sore thumb from all the rest, she couldn't help but admit that it had its own beauty.

Kraus moved from Miho towards the door. He let both of his hand touch the door for a moment before pushing them, the oak doors opening in a grandeur way. Miho could only watch it before Kraus tapped her shoulder. His blue eyes lingered on her own before gesturing his hand towards the entrance. She stood there for a moment before nodding back at Kraus and both walk towards the entrance.

 _To be continued…._

 **A/N: So Part 1 of Chapter 5. I decided to split Chapter 5 into different parts like that of Chapter 4. I'm terribly sorry if some of you guys like to go to the action part, but don't worry. I'll get there sooner or letter. Also, since I'm close to the match, I like you guys to submit your OC's and the tanks that they will play in the match. Tier spread should be Tier VII-IX, because of the platoon.**

 **Anyways, comment, suggest/criticize and point out some embarrassing mistakes I made if you guys can see one.**

 **I'll see you next time on the battlefield! :D**

 **-cellum95-**


	8. Announcement

**Announcement**

 **A warm greeting to you all!**

 **It has been a while, huh? Sorry for the abrupt disconnect from my writing lately. The school has been working me and my classmates into overdrive as it was nearing the end of the school year. It was worth it though, finally graduating from Junior High School. Add to the fact that I have been playing a lot lately, writer's block suddenly kicking in and general laziness rearing its ugly head, I have difficulties writing chapters as of late.**

 **Don't worry, I'm not going to quit my stories that early. In fact, recently I finally managed to get off my lazy butt and write Part 2 of Chapter 5. But because of the aforementioned problems that I'm experiencing recently, expect the chapter to be delayed even further before it can be published.**

 **As I said, I will not be quitting writing fanfictions. They're fun. So, keep a look out for the next chapter and I'll see you guys next time on the battlefield.**

 **Signed,**

 **cellum95**


	9. Chapter 5 Part 2

**Chapter 5 Part 2**

The young scion of the Nishizumi Family had to admit to herself that this wasn't she was expecting at all on what's inside the building. She had to blink several times if she was seeing it right, pinching herself slightly even, before accepting this is the interior.

There were numerous rows of chairs neatly lined up to a maximum of 10, and dividing them into separate columns by the walkways themselves. In the very front was a huge white screen with two peculiar symbols on top of it. One was a circle that has two arrows pointing in an arching trajectory, the arrows and the circle's boundary are colored grey while the inside was colored red. The other one was a peculiar heptagon that has a letter 'T' accompanied by what looks like a bent stick on either side. The 'T', sticks and the shape's boundary is colored grey while the inside was colored black. If Miho didn't know any better she walking to a movie theater.

The sound of footsteps snaps her out of her stupor to find her escort walking towards a pedestal that has a worn-out book on it. She watches as Klaus opens the book, grabs a pen, and starts writing. Seconds later, he was done.

"Follow me." He said. Miho automatically followed him, must be something important. They walked towards a door, the combined sound of their footsteps echoing in the so far empty building. They stop in front of the mentioned door and Miho could see a shirt icon. She immediately know it means.

"A dressing room?" She asked, turning her head to Klaus. The German crew member turned his head to Miho in return.

"We need to change your clothing. Don't want to make a scene where a young girl is in a patient's clothing in a viewing room." She nodded agreeing with his logic. Her expression adopted an incredulous look, seeing one minute detail underneath all of that.

"Why didn't they think of that earlier?" Klaus just shrugged in response, not knowing the answer. Miho just sighed. The sound of a door being open got her attention and she turned her head to the now open room, courtesy of her companion. Wordlessly, they went inside and she was dumbstruck by the seemingly innumerable amount of tank crew uniforms of each nation. She turned her head to Klaus' direction. He turned his head to her direction in reply, stretching out an arm and tilting his head to the clothing, telling her 'go on'.

Miho hesitantly took the tentative step forward, inspecting the different clothing with just a touch of a hand. Memories of a happier time spring up. A small smile graces her lips as she moves inward. She then stops in front of a series of officer uniforms with a flag stitched to them. The flag was colored blue that has a golden cross, the vertical part being put more to the left.

She gets the uniform from the rack, inspecting the intricate details put into it. Satisfied, she turns to Klaus presenting the uniform. Her companion raises an eyebrow in her choice. She raises the uniform a little higher, pointing a finger at it, insisting on her choice. Either in acceptance or skepticism, Klaus nods and beckons her to exit the room. Miho complies, leaving the room with her chosen uniform.

"Change there." He said while pointing ahead. The young Nishizumi followed where he was pointing at, and her vision was greeted with a room adjacent to the room she exited seconds ago. She could see a symbol on the door, two clothing with a back and forth in between.

With a 'thank you', she enters the room and closes the door. Once she was in the room, she put a palm on her face. How did she not notice this room before?! It was literally right next to the uniform's room! She lot a groan of frustration as she composes herself for a few seconds. As she withdraws her hand from her face, she proceeds to change from the hospital gown to the crew uniform.

As she did so, she eyes random spots on her skins that has a lighter shade the normal. Her lips turns upside down as she continues what she was doing. She then notices something: she had no undergarments. Instead of being flustered or groaning at her plight, she resorts to wearing the uniform over the hospital gown. After a few minutes of dressing up, she was finished. Miho inspects herself, and after she was satisfied, she went out of the room only to find Klaus nowhere to be found.

The young Nishizumi was confused as to why he would left her so early before reminding herself that he was part of tournament, Tankery at that, and tournaments have one of the most tight schedules ever known to humanity. She couldn't blame him for what he had done. Closing the door behind her, she chose her seat and sat there.

As she sat there, her mind wanders. A set of memories come forth in her mind….

 _Her legs burn. She knows she is exhausted. Her heart pumps harder to pump blood in the most crucial areas of her body. Yet she did not stop to rest. Why you ask?_

" _Catch her! Don't let her escape!" That is the reason. Why was she running away from them? Other than the reason that she was tortured for over a year and a half now, she had heard that the school has been investing on a revolutionary new way of transporting their tank teams from one area to the other instantaneously since the nature of tankery has been changing rapidly._

 _True or not, she would take the leap of faith and use this revolutionary thing to get out of this hell. She waited her time, and when the time was right, she jumped on that time and goes all out. The only problem with her plan was that she did not know where this thing is. She could only pray to Lady Luck that her guesswork that it was at the lower levels of the vessel was right._

" _Gotcha!" Her head snapped in front as a fairly tall woman blocks the hallway. In a split second, Miho slide underneath the woman as the tall individual tried to catch her. She continued her run, not looking behind her to see the stunned expression plastered on the woman's face._

 _For hours she ran from her pursuers while trying to seek for that miracle. Exhaustion was taking a toll on her body, yet still she did not rest. She would not let this ample opportunity to skip away._

 _Finally, a breakthrough. A door has the 'Authorized Personnel Only' sign, and the door was partially open. Thanking Lady Luck and praying to her again that her hunch was right, she speeds her running. Seconds later, she breaks in. She closes the door, locks it, and proceeds to put random things to reinforce the lock._

 _She took the moment to rest before resuming her search. She could hear the muffled noises of her pursuers but the door should buy her some time. Her eyes then notices a number of panels with lots of buttons and switches. That was below an observation glass. She approach with caution. She took a peak and gasps on what she found._

 _Below was two, metallic semi-circles set apart by a few meters. Pipes were connected to the constructs like some kind of energy feed. Miho rubbed her eyes to see if she were hallucinating. When she could still see it, she looked down, putting her hands on the panel below her to stabilize herself. An honest to god teleportation device! Somehow her 'mother' and the R &D team of the school manage to create something from science fiction to reality._

 _A ghost of a smile appeared in her face as she chuckles. No time to rest now, she reminded herself. She stretch her arms as she goes to work. The buttons and levers were kindly labeled for her to use. She-_

A ruckus pulled Miho out of Memory Express. She looked behind her see numerous people, all jotting down at that book, going to dressing room and seating down at random seats. Her attention then diverted towards the screen in front. It was technically playing some kind of music with the weird symbol she spotted earlier accompanying it.

As the people settle down to their respective seats, Miho takes a critical look on the people. The majority of the people were around 20-30ish in terms of age, however she spots those of her age group as well. Wasn't surprising, since Sensha-do has that kind of audience as well.

The tell-tale ticking sound of a countdown puts her attention back to the screen. It first views the list of the participants in the match. Two teams, 15 each. 30 in all. That's big, she thought. Though she wonders to herself why there are Roman numerals (VII-IX) inside the vehicle icons. She smiles though as she spots the names of caretakers.

Then, it switches from the list to a patch of open ground. The camera then pans out to take a more general view of the landscape. She hungrily takes in every single detail. A huge mountain range separates the hilly west from the lake in the center. A central road is carved at the eastern base of the landmass. To the very east of the landscape lies a fairly sizeable town that has many avenues of approach.

" **Roll out!** " A voice said, and the tanks went out to battle. Miho grips the arm rests of her seat in anticipation.

' _Good luck to you three'._

 **-Earlier-**

Alexander was tapping his foot patiently. He raises his arm to take a look at his watch before putting down his arm. Michael had already signed them up for a match and said they would be deployed to their designated place in 30 minutes. 15 minutes has passed, and they were still waiting for Klaus, the one who volunteered to escort their guest. He is a patient man, but even he wasn't immune to Time's seemingly endless ability to cause paranoia.

He look at the ones that will be his teammates very soon. There was his best friends, Michael and Vasily who were conversing with their crew. There were faces that he didn't recognize, others he could only see in posters and other forms of media. One face he recognized from propaganda was the famous KV-3 commander Demitry Larinn and his crew. He did not know much about him, only that he has one impressive track record.

The hard crunches broke Alexander from his 'surveillance' and look at the offender who was Klaus, slowing down before stopping trying to catch his breath. Another set of hard crunches grabs his attention, and he was greeted with the sight of Michael moving towards his crew member.

"Mission accomplished?" Alexander noted that the others had their attention at this little event. Some of them even adopted a curious expression on their faces. He could only imagine what imaginative objective the mission entailed. Only he and his friends know the true objective of the mission that was given to Klaus. The aforementioned individual corrects his posture before taking in a few gulps of air and looking at his commanding officer straight at the eye.

"Mission accomplished." He said. Michael was satisfied with the answer and turns around to his tank with Klaus trailing behind him. A whistle blow signaled that it was time for deployment. Everyone went inside their tanks and…sit tight. This is where, in Alexander's mind, the most peculiar yet the most fascinating part of the tournament happens. All of them felt…something that rattles the tank slightly. A few seconds later, Alexander peeks out of the commander's hatch to find they were in Lakeville.

All those who participated in the tournament doesn't know how the head honchos manage to that trick, but the instantaneous movement from their gathering point to the base (either north or side) of any part of the world is such a blessing. Makes credit earning much more bearable since additional costs would make the tournament unenjoyable and not fun to play in general.

His mind then races as he processes the information that his eyes is relaying to him at the moment. The biggest piece of information is that the team he and his friends were in the northern base. He reaches out to his pocket to pull out a piece of paper. It was the list of players on both teams, and the important information he could gleam on were the tanks each player would be deploying on the playing field.

He grimaces as he look at the tanks of the enemy team. Tanks like the ISU-152, T95 and the Type 4 Heavy to name a few are going to be a pain in the ass to deal with. Thankfully, they have their own heavy hitters as well with thanks like the Waffentrager auf Panzer IV, Rheinmetall Borsig Waffentrager , their own T95 and in addition a T30 and a Jagdtiger. An added bonus was that there were no Artillery in the match. Though it works both ways. While being hit out of nowhere can be frustrating, the added support from those Hands is invaluable especially if time of the essence is needed.

Alexander shook off at that train of thoughts as the finals seconds ticking in. He looks at his friends who was looking back at him. Without any words muttered all three nodded to each other as a good luck gesture and goes back in their tank.

" **Roll out!"** The announcer shouted. Soon the tanks went on to battle, trying to be the first ones to take a key advantageous before their enemies does. Alexander takes a look at the map that somehow tracks the movement of all allied tanks, and spotted enemy tanks, as well as a general view of the given terrain. He grimaces as he looks at the western side.

" _Alright boys here's the plan."_ He said over the radio.

" _The western side is not looking good in terms of numbers. So we're going there, reinforce the scout there and the lone tank destroyer and hold out. Push if needed."_ He added.

" _Affirmative."_

" _Copy that."_ With that out of the way, he and his friends went to said area. As they cross the terrain, their speed went down a tad bit, though it was normal for them since the terrain in this part was different. They reached their destination, seeing the T71 CMD hiding behind a rock on the far top right of the ridgeline.

Alexander positioned his T29 as the lead tank as he orders his driver to slowly peek the hill crest. Behind him were his friends, positioned so that they can surprise someone who is dumb enough to rush a hull-down American Heavy Tank. The lone tank destroyer at the back-which is now identified as a T25 AT-is primed and ready to give supporting fire if the line is pushed back hard.

At the same time, the T71 CMD reversed to provide much needed vision on the other side. The scout did its job as it identified a few of the enemies. The scout hurried back into cover, and honestly if Alexander was that guy he would've done the same. Seeing the enemies dreaded ISU-152, a Jagdpanther, and the Waffentrager auf. Pz IV pointing their guns at your general direction, especially when you're squishy target, is not a pleasant sight to see.

Still, the T71 CMD's scouting didn't go in vain as Alexander's T29 managed to be in a hull-down position. As soon as the American tank is in that favorable spot, the enemy tank destroyers started firing. However, Alexander didn't have anything to fear as the shots bounced off as the glorious turret armor of the American heavy tank.

The heavy tank's gun replied in kind, scoring a direct hit on the ISU-152 which caused damage. Of course, Alexander didn't stay in that one spot all the time as he orders to fall back a little to reload and move forward to fire back. His friends didn't stay idle either. Whenever all three TD's fired their guns, they move up and fire at them to get sweet damage(two shots for Michael's tank even) before retreating so that Alexander can take the damage.

Eventually, the enemy tank destroyers were so sick of shooting the turret front of the T29 that they decided to high tail it and leave. Alexander take a brief look at the mini map. His lips turned into a thin line at the situation. While the town to the east was secure, the central road was not making any progress.

" _So what do we do now?"_ He asked over the radio. The reason why he was asking this was that the situation in the central area could go either way at this point.

" _I'll say press the advantage."_ Vasily recommended. The channel then crackles a third time.

" _I'm in agreement with Vasily on this one. Let's just pray that our allies at the center can hold that bit long enough."_ Michael said.

" _I hope you're right about this…."_ Alexander warily said on the radio. He prays to whoever is up there that Michael's little prayer comes true. With that said, the trio went over the hill and towards the enemy base. The T71 CMD accompanies them, rushing towards a new scouting position.

Michael and Vasily went to where the T71 CMD went, but both of them received a hit from one of the enemy tank destroyers which shaved a third/more than a third of their health. At least it didn't hit something critical in their tanks. Alexander, meanwhile, placed his tank on a convenient little ridge and starts working them over. Soon, his friends and the T71 CMD joined the fray. Minutes later the tanks from the town were here, cleaning up. Their allies from the center also managed to join. Between them, they killed the remaining enemies.

A chime rang with the sky turning green. The signal that the battle was won.

 **-Back to Miho-**

Miho sunk back to her seat, astonished at what she had seen. Her ears barely registering the claps and loud cheering of the crowd around her. After a full minute of shock, she let a small smile grace her lips and she congratulates her caretakers for their victory. Her sights went back to the big screen, blank for the moment.

She reviewed what she had seen in that match, and though the action was many and the variety of tanks present were staggering, she felt that the information with her right now is lackluster at best. Sure the health bars, the damage counters and the like _(Seriously, those are supposed to be in a video game!)_ caught her by surprise, she still needs to learn about the basic inner workings of the tankery.

So she let herself be comfortable at her chair to watch loads of tank matches before reaching her conclusion.

' _Or just join the tournament like any normal person.'_ She muses to herself. It was a logical step, but that will be for the future.

 _-stretches her arms out and begins the procedure, pushing buttons and levers in the correct order. The hum of the device was music to her ears, but there was no time to celebrate. If she needs her daring escape plan to even have the slightest chance of working, she needs to make sure that her pursuers did not follow her to whatever location she might end up._

 _However, there was a major problem. How can she destroy the device while keeping it stable? Worse of all, what material she can use to do considerable damage to it in the first place? Her body tense when she could faintly hear voices from the other side. That shorten her time table. Making up her mind, she quickly open the door leading towards the device._

 _The space was massive! But there was no time to waste. Immediately she went looking for something, anything that could cripple the device soon after she entered it. She searched high and low, back tracking to a few places even just to make sure. The situation was getting desperate, and her ears could pick the sound of her pursuers trying to open the door when she hit the jackpot._

 _Hidden away at a random spot were crates of ammunition for the collection of tanks Black Peak has managed to acquire. Thanking the gods for a while, she immediately went to work. The task of moving the boxes near the device, opening it, and placing the shells to optimal positions went for a full hour, maybe even more, all the while straining her ears to hear if her pursuers is still trying to open the door._

 _The silence only she could hear in this room should have been welcoming, relieving to her mind. Instead, it only brought dread. It registers to her that they are going to fetch something strong enough to bust the defense she hastily set up. She hastens in her task when she registers another problem: how is she to set the charges in the shells?_

 _She cursed in her head that it almost screwed over her concentration on setting the makeshift charges. Thankfully, she didn't drop them or else her escape plan would've ended right her, right now. Still, the problem of setting these shells off nags at the back of her mind. She entertains quite a few ideas, but she debunks them as soon as she evaluates their merits._

 _She begins to feel frustrated as time passes by with no real solution in sight. She massages her temple as a migraine slowly starts to form. The migraine faded when her mind suddenly slowly comes up with the craziest idea yet. Her eyes drifted towards the pipes that she somehow managed to forget and gloss over when doing her plan. A manic grin formed on her face as she gets to work._

 **A/N:**

 **Hey guys.**

 **It's been a really long time since I updated this fic. Now you're all wondering, why is that? To be frank, I have almost all spirit in writing since life is getting harder. Also, my enjoyment in World of Tanks have exponentially because of mistakes and that World of Warships exists. I almost dropped out of being a writer when I got the SU-76G FT in WoT, reinvigorating my spirit in writing and in WoT.**

 **I will try my best to update as fast as possible for your enjoyment. As always, please share your reviews, opinions and suggestions so that I can make this fic better for you guys to read.**

 **Oh, before I forget, I would like to thank those who submitted OCs for this fic. I will put them in the story in one way or another.**

 **Good luck, and roll out!**

 **-cellum95**


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